Display device

ABSTRACT

A display device includes: a display panel including a first area, a second area, and a bending portion provided between the first area and the second area, the first area overlapping the second area by bending of the bending portion; and a supporter provided in a space defined by the first area, the second area, and the bending portion, and contacting the bending portion and the first area adjacent to the bending portion.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/676,436 filed on Aug. 14, 2017, which claims priority to andthe benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2016-0107582 filed inthe Korean Intellectual Property Office on Aug. 24, 2016, the entirecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND (a) Technical Field

This disclosure relates to a display device.

(b) Description of the Related Art

Display devices such as an organic light emitting device and a liquidcrystal display are manufactured by generating a plurality of layers andelements on a substrate. Glass has been used for the substrate of thedisplay device. However, the glass substrate is heavy and easily broken.Further, the glass substrate is rigid so it is difficult to deform thedisplay device. Recently, display devices using a flexible substratethat is light, strong against impacts, and is easily deformed have beendeveloped.

The display device using a flexible substrate may be manufactured tobend at an edge where a pad portion to which a flexible printed circuitfilm (FPC) for transmitting signals is located, thereby reducing a deadspace compared to the display device using a rigid substrate. When thedead space is reduced, a bezel width of the display device may bereduced and usage of an inner space of the display device may beincreased so the display device may be manufactured to be more compact.

The above information disclosed in this Background section is only forenhancement of understanding of the background of the invention andtherefore it may contain information that does not form the prior artthat is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill inthe art.

SUMMARY

Embodiments provide a display device for improving reliability of abending portion of a display panel.

An exemplary embodiment provides a display device including: a displaypanel including a first area, a second area, and a bending portionconnecting the first area with the second area, the first areaoverlapping the second area, the bending portion being bent; and asupporter provided in a space defined by the first area, the secondarea, and the bending portion, and contacting the bending portion andthe first area adjacent to the bending portion.

The supporter may be bonded by the supporter to at least a portion ofeach of the bending portion and the first area.

The supporter may contact at least a portion of the second area.

The first area and the second area may be substantially flat.

The supporter may be a thermoplastic resin or a polymer made of athermosetting resin, a photo-curable resin, or a moisture-curable resin.

A thickness of the bending portion may be greater than a thickness of aportion of the display device where the first area overlaps the secondarea.

A thickness of the bending portion may be substantially equal to athickness of a portion of the display device where the first areaoverlaps the second area.

The first area may include a display area for displaying an image, andthe second area may include a pad portion.

The display device may further include: an integrated circuit chipinstalled in the second area; and a flexible printed circuit film bondedto the pad portion.

A thickness of the bending portion may be equal to or greater than athickness of a portion of the display device where of the integratedcircuit chip overlaps the second area.

Another embodiment provides a method for manufacturing a display device,including: providing a display panel including a first area, a secondarea, and a bending portion provided between the first area and thesecond area; applying a supporter forming material to the bendingportion; and curing the supporter forming material to form a supporterwhile the bending portion is bent.

The method may further include bending the bending portion beforeapplying the supporter forming material.

The method may further include bending the bending portion afterapplying the supporter forming material.

The supporter forming material may be a hot melt that is melted or aliquid resin.

The liquid resin may be a photo-curable resin, a thermosetting resin, ora moisture-curable resin.

The supporter may be formed to be provided in a space defined by thefirst area, the second area, and the bending portion, and the supportermay be formed to contact at least a portion of each of the bendingportion and the first area.

The supporter may be formed to contact at least a portion of the secondarea.

A thickness of the bending portion may be greater than a thickness of aportion of the display device where the first area overlaps the secondarea.

A thickness of the bending portion may be substantially equal to athickness of a portion of the display device where the first areaoverlaps the second area.

The first area may include a display area for displaying an image, andthe second area may include a pad portion.

According to the exemplary embodiments, the supporter corresponding tothe bending portion of the display panel may be efficiently providedwith a reduced number of processes and cost, and the reliability of thebending portion may be improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a top plan view before a display device according to anexemplary embodiment of the present inventive concept is bent.

FIG. 2 shows a side view of an exemplary embodiment after a displaydevice shown in FIG. 1 is bent.

FIG. 3 shows a side view of an exemplary embodiment after a displaydevice shown in FIG. 1 is bent.

FIG. 4 shows a side view of an exemplary embodiment after a displaydevice shown in FIG. 1 is bent.

FIG. 5 shows a process for manufacturing a display device shown in FIG.2.

FIG. 6 shows a top plan view before a display device according to anexemplary embodiment of the present inventive concept is bent.

FIG. 7 shows a side view of an exemplary embodiment after a displaydevice shown in FIG. 6 is bent.

FIG. 8 shows across-sectional view of a stacking structure of a displayarea of a display device according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent inventive concept.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The present inventive concept will be described more fully hereinafterwith reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplaryembodiments of the invention are shown. As those skilled in the artwould realize, the described embodiments may be modified in variousdifferent ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of thepresent inventive concept.

Parts that are unrelated to the description of the exemplary embodimentsare not shown to make the description clear, and like reference numeralsdesignate like element throughout the specification.

The size and thickness of each component shown in the drawings arearbitrarily shown for better understanding and ease of description, butthe present inventive concept is not limited thereto. In the drawings,the thickness of layers, films, panels, areas, etc., are exaggerated forclarity. For better understanding and ease of description, the thicknessof some layers and areas is exaggerated.

It will be understood that when an element such as a layer, film, area,or substrate is referred to as being “on” another element, it can bedirectly on the other element or intervening elements may also bepresent. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directlyon” another element, there are no intervening elements present.

In addition, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word“comprise” and variations such as “comprises” or “comprising” will beunderstood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not theexclusion of any other elements.

The phrase “on a plane” means viewing the object portion from the top,and the phrase “on a cross-section” means viewing a cross-section ofwhich the object portion is vertically cut from the side.

A display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinventive concept will now be described with reference to accompanyingdrawings.

FIG. 1 shows a top plan view before a display device according to anexemplary embodiment of the present inventive concept is bent, FIG. 2,FIG. 3, and FIG. 4 show a side view of an exemplary embodiment after adisplay device shown in FIG. 1 is bent, and FIG. 5 shows a process formanufacturing a display device shown in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 1, the display device includes a display panel 10 anda flexible printed circuit film 20 connected to the display panel 10.

The display panel 10 including a substrate 110 on which elements fordisplaying an image to a flexible substrate includes a display area DAfor displaying an image, and a non-display area NA, provided outside thedisplay area DA, on which elements and/or wires for generating and/ortransmitting various signals applied to the display area DA aredisposed. FIG. 1 shows that a lower area of the display panel 10 isindicated as the non-display area NA, and a right edge, a left edge,and/or an upper edge of the display panel 10 may correspond to thenon-display area NA.

The display area DA of the display panel 10 may include a display layer200 and an anti-reflection layer 400 on the substrate 110. Pixels PX areexemplarily disposed in a matrix form on the display layer 200. Signallines such as gate lines (not shown) or data lines (not shown) aredisposed in the display layer 200. The gate lines may mainly extend in afirst direction D1 (e.g., a row direction), and the data lines mayextend in a second direction D2 (e.g., a column direction) crossing thefirst direction D1. Each pixel PX may be connected to the gate line andthe data line to receive a gate signal and a data signal from the samesignal lines. In the case of the organic light emitting device, forexample, driving voltage lines (not shown) extending in the seconddirection D2 and transmitting a driving voltage to the pixels PX may bedisposed in the display area DA. In the case of the liquid crystaldisplay, a polarization layer may be provided instead of theanti-reflection layer 400.

The display area DA may further include a touch sensor layer (not shown)for sensing a user's contacting or non-contacting touch. Thequadrangular display area DA is shown, and the display area DA may havevarious kinds of shapes such as a polygon, a circle, or an oval inaddition to the quadrangle.

A pad portion PP including pads (not shown) for receiving signals fromoutside of the display panel 10 is provided on the substrate 110 in thenon-display area NA of the display panel 10. The pads of the pad portionPP are connected to wires disposed in the non-display area NA. A firstend of the flexible printed circuit film 20 is attached to the padportion PP. A second end of the flexible printed circuit film 20 may beexemplarily connected to an external printed circuit board (PCB) (notshown) to transmit signals such as image data.

A driving device for generating and/or processing various kinds ofsignals for driving the display panel 10 may be provided in thenon-display area NA, and may be provided on the flexible printed circuitfilm 20 attached to the pad portion PP. The driving device may include adata driver for applying a data signal to the data line, a gate driverfor applying a gate signal to the gate line, and a signal controller forcontrolling the data driver and the gate driver.

The data driver is installed as an integrated circuit chip 40 in thenon-display area NA between the display area DA and the pad portion PP.Alternatively, the data driver may be mounted as an integrated circuitchip on the flexible printed circuit film 20 and may be connected as atape carrier package (TCP) to the pad portion PP. The gate driver may beprovided as an integrated circuit chip or may be integrated in anon-display area (not shown) on the left/right edge of the display panel10. The signal controller may be formed with a same integrated circuitchip 40 as the data driver or may be provided as a separate integratedcircuit chip.

Referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG. 4, the display panel 10includes a bending portion BP between the display area DA and the padportion PP. As shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG. 4, the bending portionBP represents an area that is bent with a predetermined curvature radiuson the display panel 10. The bending portion BP is provided to traversethe display panel 10 in the first direction D1, for example, the bendingportion BP is provided to traverse the entire length of the displaypanel 10 in the first direction D1. The display panel 10 may be bentwith respect to a bending axis in parallel to the first direction D1,and for example, as shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG. 4, the flexibleprinted circuit film 20 may be provided behind or at a far end portionof the display area DA as a result of the bending. Wires fortransmitting the signals that are input through the pads of the padportion PP to the driving device or the display area DA are provided onthe substrate 110 on the bending portion BP. A bending protection layer600 or a stress neutralization layer may be provided on wires in thebending portion BP to mitigate a tensile stress or protect the wires.The bending portion BP is shown to be provided in the non-display areaNA in the drawing, and the bending portion BP may be provided in thedisplay area DA and the non-display area NA, or in the display area DA.

In a viewpoint of the bending portion BP, the display panel 10 providesa bending portion BP, a first area A1 provided on a first side of thebending portion BP, and a second area A2 provided on a second side ofthe bending portion BP. The first area A1, the bending portion BP, andthe second area A2 are continuously provided, i.e., the bending portionBP connects the first area A1 and the second area A2. The first area A1may include the display area DA, and the integrated circuit chip 40 andthe pad portion PP may be provided in the second area A2. In theillustrated exemplary embodiment, the non-display area NA includes anarea between the display area DA and the bending portion BP, the bendingportion BP, and the second area A2. While the display panel 10 is bent,the first area A1 overlaps the second area A2. The first area A1 and thesecond area A2 may be substantially flat.

A protective film 500 a for protecting the display panel 10 is attachedto a rear side of the first area A1. A protective film 500 b may beattached to a rear side of the second area A2 as shown in FIG. 3 andFIG. 4, or it may not be attached thereto as shown in FIG. 2. Forexample, the protective films 500 a and 500 b may be made of a polymersuch as polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphtha late,polyimide, or polyethylene sulfide, and their thickness may be about 50to 150 micrometers, but they are not limited thereto. Alternatively, theprotective films 500 a and 500 b may not be provided as shown so as toreduce the bending stress on the bending portion BP. The protectivefilms 500 a and 500 b may partly overlap the bending protection layer600 as shown, or they may not overlap the same, differing from thedrawing.

The bending portion BP may include a first bending portion B1 and asecond bending portion B2 with different curvature radii R1 and R2.While the display panel 10 is bent, a bending axis of the first bendingportion B1 may be provided inside the display panel 10, and a bendingaxis of the second bending portion B2 may be provided outside thedisplay panel 10. The first bending portion B1 may be provided near thefirst area A1, and the second bending portion B2 may be provided nearthe second area A2. The curvature radius R2 of the second bendingportion B2 may be greater than the curvature radius R1 of the firstbending portion B1. When the first bending portion B1 and the secondbending portion B2 are bent with different positions of the bending axisand the curvature radii R1 and R2, a thickness T2 of the display deviceon a portion where the first area A1 overlaps the second area A2 may beless than a thickness T1 of the display device on the first bendingportion B1.

The curvature radii R1 and R2 may be set such that the thickness T1 ofthe display device on the first bending portion B1 may be equal to orgreater than a sum of the thickness T2 of the display device at theportion where the first area A1 overlaps the second area A2 and athickness T3 of the integrated circuit chip 40. In this case, thethickness of the display device may be designed to be equal to or lessthan the thickness of the first bending portion B1, and the integratedcircuit chip 40 is prevented from being damaged by minimizing protrudingof the integrated circuit chip 40 from the display device.

The bending portion BP may further include at least one sub-bendingportion (not shown) between the first bending portion B1 and the secondbending portion B2, and the curvature radius of the sub-bending portionmay be greater than the curvature radius R2 of the second bendingportion B2. The bending portion BP may substantially include only aportion that is bent with a single curvature radius, and for example,the bending portion BP may include only the first bending portion B1 andnot the second bending portion B2.

A supporter 50 is provided in a space defined by the first area A1, thebending portion BP, and the second area A2 (referred to as an internalbending space hereinafter). The supporter 50 with a shape correspondingto an inner side of the internal bending space fills the internal space.Therefore, the supporter 50 closely contacts the bending portion BP, aportion of the first area A1, and the second area A2. In further detail,referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the supporter 50 may closely contactsurfaces of the protective films 500 a and 500 b on a portion to whichthe protective films 500 a and 500 b are attached, and the supporter 50may closely contact a surface of the substrate 110 on a portion to whichthe protective film 500 a is not attached in a like manner of thebending portion BP. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the supporter 50 mayfill most of the internal bending space up to the area in which thefirst area A1 overlaps the second area A2. For example, the supporter 50may fill more than about 80% of the internal bending space. As shown inFIG. 4, the supporter 50 may be provided to fill the bending portion BP,or the bending portion BP and a peripheral area. In this case, anadhesive member 60 such as a cushion tape may be provided between theprotective films 500 a and 500 b on a portion where the supporter 50 isnot provided in the internal bending space, and the protective films 500a and 500 b may be attached to each other by the adhesive member 60. Bythis, for example, the second area A2 that does not closely contact thesupporter 50 may be fixed to the first area A1.

The supporter 50 is bonded to the area of contact between the displaypanel 10 and the supporter 50. In other words, no other attaching meansis provided between the supporter 50 and a contact area of the displaypanel 10 to attach them, and the supporter 50 is bonded to the displaypanel 10. The supporter 50 may be a thermoplastic resin, or it may bemade of a thermosetting resin, a photo-curable resin, or amoisture-curable resin. The supporter 50 may exemplarily include apolymer such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polycarbonate,polymathic methacrylate, polyethylene terephthalate, polyimide, orpolyolefin, and it is not limited thereto.

The bending portion BP is bonded to the supporter 50 so a restoringforce of the bending portion BP may be counteracted to maintain thebending curvature, and the display panel 10 may maintain a predeterminedbent state. Further, when an external force is applied to the bendingportion BP, the supporter 50 provided in the internal bending spacesupports the bending portion BP, thereby exemplarily preventing thebending portion BP from being pressurized in a direction substantiallyparallel to the third direction D3, or otherwise deformed, and therebypreventing the wires provided on the bending portion BP from beingdamaged. A Young's modulus of the supporter 50 may exemplarily be equalto or greater than about 100 MPa so as to support the bending portion BPand prevent the same from being deformed and damaged by an externalforce.

The supporter 50 having a shape that corresponds to the inner side ofthe internal bending space generated by the first area A1, the bendingportion BP, and the second area A2 may be formed not by inserting aprepared supporter in such a shape but by, for example, injecting amaterial with fluidity into the internal bending space and curing thesame.

In detail, referring to FIG. 5, the bending portion BP may be bent sothat the second area A2 may overlap the first area A1, and then asupporter forming material may be injected into the internal bendingspace in a direction substantially parallel to the first direction D1from a side of the internal bending space or in a directionsubstantially parallel to the second direction D2. When the internalbending space is filled with the supporter forming material, thesupporter forming material is cooled, or heat or beams are applied tothe supporter forming material to be cured, so the supporter 50 having ashape corresponding to the internal bending space is provided in theinternal bending space. To prevent the display panel 10 from beingdamaged when the bending portion BP is bent, a passivation layer 70 maybe provided on the anti-reflection layer 400, and the passivation layer70 may be removed after it is bent.

A hot melt that is melted or a liquid resin may be exemplarily used forthe supporter forming material. The liquid resin may be a photo-curableresin, a thermosetting resin, or a moisture-curable resin, and it may beuncured or semi-cured. The hot melt that may be a thermoplastic resinthat is melted when it is heated is cured when it is cooled. The resinor the hot melt is adhesive, so the cured supporter 50 may be bonded tothe inner side of the internal bending space. Therefore, the supporter50 may be bonded with the display panel 10 by the supporter 50 withoutusing an additional adhesive means between the supporter 50 and thedisplay panel 10, and the display panel 10 may maintain the bendingstate of the bending portion BP.

Another method for forming the supporter 50 includes, for example,applying a supporter forming material such as a hot melt that is meltedbefore the bending portion BP is bent or a liquid resin with someviscosity on a rear side of the bending portion BP, bending the bendingportion BP as shown in FIG. 4, and curing the supporter formingmaterial. When the supporter forming material is sufficiently applied,the supporter forming material BP may fill the space generated by thebending portion BP when the bending portion BP is bent and then may fillthe space generated by portions where the first area A1 overlaps thesecond area A2.

When the supporter 50 is formed as described by applying the supporterforming material of liquid crystal to the bending portion BP and curingthe same, it may reduce the number of processes and the cost compared tothe case of attaching a prepared supporter to the bending portion BP.Further, the supporter 50 is formed to closely contact the display panel10 on the bending portion BP and in its nearby area, so no empty spaceis provided between the display panel 10 and the supporter 50, therebypreventing accumulated fatigue that may occur because of the space.

A display device according to another exemplary embodiment of thepresent inventive concept will now be described with a focus on adifference with the above-described display device with reference toFIG. 6 and FIG. 7.

FIG. 6 shows a top plan view before a display device according to anexemplary embodiment of the present inventive concept is bent, and FIG.7 shows a side view of an exemplary embodiment after a display deviceshown in FIG. 6 is bent.

Differing from the exemplary embodiment shown with reference to FIG. 1to FIG. 5, regarding the exemplary embodiment shown with reference toFIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the integrated circuit chip 40 that may include adata driver is not installed on the display panel 10 but is installed ona flexible printed circuit film 30 including a first end bonded to thepad portion PP of the display panel 10. The flexible printed circuitfilm 30 includes a second end connected to the flexible printed circuitfilm 20, and the flexible printed circuit film 20 may exemplarily beconnected to an external printed circuit board (PCB) (not shown) totransmit signals such as image data.

The display panel 10 includes a first area A1, a bending portion BP, anda second area A2. Referring to FIG. 7, the bending portion BP is bentwith a curvature radius R3, and the first area A1 overlaps the secondarea A2 when the bending portion BP is bent. The first area A1 and thesecond area A2 may be substantially parallel to each other, so thethickness of the display device on the portion where the first area A1overlaps the second area A2 may be substantially equal to the thicknessT1 of the display device on the bending portion BP.

A supporter 50 is provided in an internal bending space generated by thefirst area A1, the bending portion BP, and the second area A2. Thesupporter 50 with a shape corresponding to an inner side of the internalbending space fills the internal space, and closely contacts the bendingportion BP, a portion of the first area A1, and the second area A2.Differing from the drawing, the supporter 50 may also be formed to fillthe bending portion BP and its peripheral area in the internal bendingspace, and it may be formed to fill the space generated by the firstarea A1 and the flexible printed circuit film 30. In the latter case,the flexible printed circuit film 30 may be bonded to the supporter 50,thereby preventing the flexible printed circuit film 30 from moving by aweight of the integrated circuit chip 40 when it is processed. Amaterial of the supporter 50 and a method for forming the same maycorrespond to the previous descriptions so they will not be described.

The display device has been described with a focus on the bendingportion BP and the supporter 50 of the display panel 10. The displaydevice will now be described in further detail by exemplifying anorganic light emitting device with reference to FIG. 8.

FIG. 8 shows across-sectional view of a stacking structure of a displayarea of a display device according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent inventive concept.

FIG. 8 may correspond to one pixel PX area in FIG. 1 and FIG. 6. Thedisplay device includes a substrate 110 and a display layer 200 providedon the substrate 110. A plurality of pixels (not shown) are formed onthe display layer 200. Each pixel includes transistors and an organiclight emitting diode, and a stacked structure of the display device willnow be described based on one transistor TR and one organic lightemitting diode OLED connected thereto.

The substrate 110 may be a flexible substrate made of a polymer such aspolyimide, polyamide, or polyethylene terephthalate. A buffer layer (notshown) or a barrier layer (not shown) for preventing an impuritydegrading a characteristic of a semiconductor from spreading andpreventing moisture from permeating may be provided inside the substrate110 and/or provided on the substrate 110.

A semiconductor 131 of a transistor TR is provided on the substrate 110,and a gate insulating layer 140 is provided on the semiconductor 131.The semiconductor 131 includes a source area, a drain area, and achannel area between the areas. The semiconductor 131 may includepolysilicon, an oxide semiconductor, or amorphous silicon. The gateinsulating layer 140 may include an inorganic insulating material suchas a silicon oxide or a silicon nitride.

A gate conductor including a gate electrode 124 of a transistor TR isprovided on the gate insulating layer 140. The gate conductor mayexemplarily include a metal such as copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), silver(Ag), molybdenum (Mo), chromium (Cr), tantalum (Ta), or titanium (Ti),or a metal alloy thereof.

An inter-layer insulating layer 160 is provided on the gate conductor.The inter-layer insulating layer 160 may include an inorganic material.

A data conductor including a source electrode 173 and a drain electrode175 of a transistor TR is provided on the inter-layer insulating layer160. The source electrode 173 and the drain electrode 175 are connectedto a source area and a drain electrode of the semiconductor 131 throughcontact holes formed in the inter-layer insulating layer 160 and thegate insulating layer 140. The data conductor may exemplarily include ametal such as copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), silver (Ag), molybdenum (Mo),chromium (Cr), gold (Au), platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), tantalum (Ta),tungsten (W), titanium (Ti), or nickel (Ni), or a metal alloy thereof.

A passivation layer 180 is provided on the data conductor. Thepassivation layer 180 may include an organic insulating material. Apixel electrode 191 is provided on the passivation layer 180. The pixelelectrode 191 may be connected to the drain electrode 175 through thecontact hole formed in the passivation layer 180 to receive a datasignal for controlling luminance of the organic light emitting diodeOLED.

A pixel definition layer 360 is provided on part of the passivationlayer 180 and the pixel electrode 191. The pixel definition layer 360includes an opening overlapping the pixel electrode 191. Regarding theopening of the pixel definition layer 360, an emission layer 370 isprovided on the pixel electrode 191, and a common electrode 270 isprovided on the emission layer 370. The pixel electrode 191, theemission layer 370, and the common electrode 270 configure an organiclight emitting diode OLED. The pixel electrode 191 may be an anode ofthe organic light emitting diode OLED, and the common electrode 270 maybe a cathode of the organic light emitting diode OLED. The commonelectrode 270 may include a transparent conductive material such as anindium tin oxide (ITO) or an indium zinc oxide (IZO).

An encapsulation layer 390 for protecting the organic light emittingdiode OLED is provided on the common electrode 270. The encapsulationlayer 390 may include at least one organic material layer and/or atleast one inorganic material layer.

An anti-reflection layer 400 for reducing reflection of external lightis provided on the encapsulation layer 390, and the anti-reflectionlayer 400 may be a polarization layer. A protective film 500 a forprotecting the display panel is provided below the substrate 110. Theprotective film 500 a may be attached to the substrate 110 by anadhesive agent such as a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) or anoptically clear adhesive (OCA).

The case in which the display device is an organic light emitting devicehas been described, and the display device may exemplarily be a liquidcrystal display including a liquid crystal layer.

While this invention has been described in connection with what ispresently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited to the disclosedembodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover variousmodifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit andscope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for manufacturing a display device,comprising: providing a display panel including a first area, a secondarea, and a bending portion provided between the first area and thesecond area; bending the bending portion to make the first area overlapthe second area and to form a space between the first area and thesecond area that overlap each other, wherein at least one of the firstarea and the second area includes pixels for displaying an image; afterthe bending, applying a supporter forming material into at least thespace and to the bending portion; and after the applying, curing thesupporter forming material to form a supporter.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein a distance between the first area and the second area thatoverlap each other in a direction perpendicular to a face of the firstarea is less than a thickness of the supporter in the directionperpendicular to the face of the first area.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein at least a portion of the supporter forming material is injectedinto the space in a direction parallel to a boundary between the bendingportion and the first area.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein thesupporter forming material is a hot melt that is melted or a liquidresin.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the supporter forming materialis a photo-curable resin, a thermosetting resin, or a moisture-curableresin.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein a first section of thesupporter is closer to the bending portion than a second section of thesupporter in a direction parallel to a face of the first area and isthicker than the second section of the supporter in a directionperpendicular to the face of the first area.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the supporter is formed to contact at least a portion of thesecond area.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein a thickness of thebending portion is greater than a thickness of a portion of the displaydevice where the first area overlaps the second area.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein a thickness of the bending portion is substantiallyequal to a thickness of a portion of the display device where the firstarea overlaps the second area.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein thefirst area includes the pixels, and wherein the second area includes anelectrically conductive pad.